Schmidt was the head coach of Leinster when Madigan was there and is now the Ireland national coach.

During his time with Leinster, the Irish province won 77 of 99 matches, claiming two Heineken Cups and a Pro12 title. If Lam can bring anything like the same success to Bristol he will go down in the club's history as their greatest coach.

“We use the drone in training and Pat must watch the training footage 30 times because it seems he is man marking everyone and seeing which guys are working hard and which guys aren’t, who is out of position, who is getting off the ground quick, all that type of type that Joe looked at.

“I don’t know how much these guys sleep. Pat seems to be up at five, six o’clock every morning sending Whatsapp until 11 o’clock at night. It kind of reminded me of Joe’s incredible work ethic.”

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Madigan said the other way the two coaches are similar is their constant drive for the highest standards. He said no matter what the situation an error is never just swept under the carpet, it is pulled up, analysed and put right.

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Madigan said: “They offered me a three year deal which was good security at this stage in my career.”

Bristol still had a chance of staying in the Aviva Premiership when Madigan agreed to move, at that time Worcester Warriors were just a handful of points clear of them in the table. But despite relegation to the Greene King IPA Championship Madigan says it's maybe for the best as it allows Lam time to build the foundation of a winning club at Bristol.